Contact: Laura Duarte Bateman (415) 684-5463
Stephanie Medina (510) 269-1260
For immediate release
August 26, 2021
Amid COVID-19 Outbreak Inside Yuba County Jail Advocates Demand The Release Of The Last Three Men Detained By ICE, Termination of Contract
Marysville, CA — The #FreeTheYuba11 Campaign Coalition, along with the three remaining men in ICE custody at the Yuba County Jail, issued the following statement with respect to the confirmed COVID-19 outbreak at the jail and issued a series of demands to congressional offices:
“On Monday evening the four men that remained in ICE custody at Yuba County Jail notified advocates they were ushered to a different location within the jail due to a COVID-19 outbreak. The following day, Fredy, one of the remaining four men, was released unexpectedly after almost two years of incarceration. While the Yuba County Sheriff claims on its website that 10 individuals have tested positive for COVID-19, counsel for ICE confirmed that as of August 24, 2021, at least 12 individuals have tested positive, housed across five different “pods” or “tanks.” Counsel for ICE further confirmed that 8 of the 12 individuals tested positive during their 14-day quarantine, suggesting that 4 of them were not in quarantine at the time they tested positive.
The spread of the virus comes at the heels of a letter with over 70 organization and 200 individual signatures sent to congressional offices demanding the immediate release of the three men who remain in ICE Custody at the Yuba County Jail: Luis, Leonel, and Ricardo, as well as the termination of the Intergovernmental Service Agreement (IGSA) between Yuba County Jail and Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Fredy’s unexpected release shows ICE has full discretion to release any individual under their custody at any given time. The three men still detained by ICE at Yuba County Jail have family members waiting for them and strong supportive post-release plans that include places to live, designated drivers, and in-patient programs. Given the dire health crisis at Yuba County Jail, the history of human rights violations at the facility, and the fact that only three men remain detained by ICE, advocates, organizers and community members insist it is time to demand the safe return of Ricardo, Luis and Leonel to their families and for the contract with Yuba County Jail and ICE to end once and for all.”
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You can read a copy of the letter sent to Congressional Representatives here.
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